Mamamoo – “Aze Gag”

Mamamoo have released a dual single this comeback. Building on their reputation for being a little more “quirky” than other girl groups, they have released “Aze Gag”. It follows in a similar vein to their other silly song “1cm (taller than you)”, where the members spend an entire song dissing each other’s heights. “Aze Gag” is just as silly, and if you love puns, it’s the song for you.

Aze Gag

Song

“Aze Gag” refers to the “dad” or “old man” jokes that so often are based on words sounding like another, the whole song is one giant pun (that works spectacularly in Korean, not so much in English), and the girls sing about enjoying the old-style humour, even if it’s a little ridiculous. This is particularly obvious in Hwasa’s part right before the chorus, where there is a quickfire rendition of various things that are puns (WiFi – WiPie) and they name check a couple of other kpop artists, such as Twice, Zico, and Tiffany.

The song is quintessential Mamamoo. The vocal and rap lines are on equal footing here, and the rap sections don’t feel like they are shoehorned into the song. It’s also very helpful for this group that even their rapline has fantastic vocals, so not every song needs a rap section and that every member can get a few lines. The chorus is very catchy, and it’s simple, so even if you don’t understand the rest of the song, you can easily sing along to the chorus.

I can see why this song is being promoted along with “Yes I Am”. Both songs show very different sides of Mamamoo, but both sides are equally loved by fans, and for fans that enjoy their sillier songs, this one is definitely going to be a hit.Video

When this video was first released, I watched it as soon as I could. I was surprised to find a scene of the girls wearing Indian bindis at one point. Of course, I didn’t understand the lyrics at the point so I was waiting for either a translation or time to ask someone who speaks Korean to explain what they were referencing. The internet exploded at them, and given their blackface controversy not so long ago, I’m not surprised. I was expecting some sort of clarification from the group or Rainbow World. But, when I re-watched the video again, I realised that the scene had been removed completely. Nothing more was ever said about it, either by the internet at large or the agency. I’m not even sure how many people saw that version of the video, but it seems to have calmed down considerably.

Moving on from that, the video itself is very “Mamamoo-esque”. It shows the girls goofing around in an office and meetings. They often have props that indicate exactly what the pun is they are making.There is a scene halfway through the video where the video essentially stops and the members watch older comedians on the television, laughing at their silly jokes until their sides hurt. It fits nicely with the theme of the song, even if it does break the flow of the video a little.

The dance routine in this is very simple, especially for the chorus. This will help fans that want to learn some choreography but as it can be very complicated, so many people don’t even try, fearing failure. Not Mamamoo. In this video, the dance routine is clear and simple, and the hand movements especially will be fun to watch in a concert setting!

Summary

My preference of the two recently released songs. It takes a little bit more work as an international fan to get an understanding of what the song is about, but it’s worth it in the end. Not overly thrilled with either of the two Mamamoo songs this comeback, but this is the better of the two in my opinion.If you want to hear some more Mamamoo, I would recommend “1cm”, “New York”, and “Decalcomanie”.